This invention relates to the use of peptide hormone analogues for inhibiting the naturally occurring hormone peptide in vivo and in vitro. These peptide hormone analogues when administered to a vertebrate, such as mammals, block the endrocrine activity of the peptide hormone or other analogous molecules. These peptide hormone analogues are also useful in vitro in combination with a bioassay for the naturally occurring hormone. The peptide hormone analogues are useful in treating various diseases caused by hormone excess and in treating hormone dependent tumors. One example of this invention relates to the synthesis of parathyroid hormone analogues useful for inhibiting the action of parathyroid hormone both in vivo and in vitro.
Analysis of the relation of structure to hormonal function has provided important insights into the mechanism of action of peptide hormones. Each type of peptide hormone has an affinity for specific receptors to which it binds. Upon binding, the peptide hormone acts either directly or causes a change in the intracellular concentration of a second messenger molecule such as cyclic AMP, cyclic GMP, or calcium ions. These second messenger molecules, in turn, cause changes in the metabolism or physiology of the cell. These changes in cell metabolism or physiology are directly or indirectly dependent upon the binding of the peptide hormone to its specific cell surface receptor. Therefore, if the cell surface receptor is blocked then the hormone effect is also blocked.
Peptide hormone analogues have long been known as a method through which the biochemistry of hormones can be studied and evaluated. Endocrinologists have long desired a method for producing a class of peptide hormone analogues which would allow the blocking of specific hormone receptors without activating a change in the second messenger molecules, thereby avoiding the hormone induced metabolic changes.
Rosenblatt et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,423,037 and the publications referred to therein describe the structure of certain peptide hormone analogues and their binding to cell receptors. In particular, these publications describe the properties of parathyroid hormone analogues and their physiological properties.
Scientific efforts over a period of many years have sought to understand the interaction between peptide hormones and the cell surface receptor specific for each peptide hormone. One of the peptide hormones, parathyroid hormone, has been studied by using analogues of parathyroid hormone (PTH). One objective of these studies has been to understand the binding of the peptide hormone to the cell surface receptor such that an analogue could be constructed which would bind with the same or greater affinity than the naturally occurring hormone. This analogue would enable the peptide hormone analogue of parathyroid hormone to be used to block the effect of the naturally occurring parathyroid hormone. One of the major problems encountered in this search for a clinically and pharmacologically effective parathyroid hormone analogue was the problem of agonist activity. Agonist activity is the property of the peptide hormone analogue to itself stimulate the change in second messengers which brings about the physiological change associated with the naturally occurring hormone. Therefore, the problem was to create hormone analogues which would bind with high affinity to the appropriate hormone cell surface receptor but not stimulate a change in the second messenger concentration, that is, not act as hormone itself. These analogues could then be used in treating hormone related diseases.
It has been discovered by the present invention that synthesis of parathyroid hormone analogues can be accomplished with greatly enhanced yields and simplified synthetic methodology while retaining biological activity by substituting L-Phe or other hydrophobic amino acids such as Leu, Nle, Val, Tyr, beta-napthylalanine and alpha-napthylalanine for L-Trp.sup.23. It is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to provide PTH analogues having simplified synthetic methodology and that can be made with greatly enhanced yield.
Another object of the present invention is to provide novel PTH analogues. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of inhibiting the action of PTH through the administration of novel PTH analogues. Still another object of the invention is to provide PTH analogues wherein amino acid modifications result in binding to all the surface receptor without activating the second messenger molecule. The above and other objects are accomplished by the present invention in the manner more fully described below.